The event, co-organised by the Diputació de Barcelona and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), brought together politicians, administration officials, academia and private sector working in the health sector. The core topic for all the lectures was the city model as a tool to promote health.

During the opening session, Josep M. Antó, Scientific Director of ISGlobal, highlighted how, in the same way that health is determined by the environment, the inverse is also true, such that “improving health in the cities is a way of improving the environment.”

Work done at the local level, such as Vic and Cornellá in Catalonia, at the country level, in Pontevedra, and at the international level, in New York, was presented throughout the day.

"The main disease in cities is the excess of road motor traffic that invades public spaces and displaces people. Not tackling the problem directly results in resources wasted in collateral measures that are not effective,” said César Mosquera, Urban Councillor in Pontevedra, a city that already in 1999 introduced measures to reduce road traffic and where currently 70% of trips are by foot or bicycle. “The public space is a fundamental right, just like health or education. The administration should guarantee one can exercise this right,” he added.